Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Distributes Two-Wheeler Among Women Cadres Of ASRLM

HT Bureau

GUWAHATI, Aug 21: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday distributed 6,670 two-wheeler vehicles to women community cadres of the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM).

The ceremonial distribution event of the two-wheelers, under the Sakhi Express scheme, was held in Guwahati’s Srimanta Sarkardeva International Auditorium.

In the 2020-21 financial year, altogether 4,238 scooters were distributed under the ASRLM’s ‘Jeevika Sakhi Express Scheme’ taking the total number of distributed scooters to 10,908.

Beneficiaries of ‘Sakhi Express’ includes Krishi Sakhi, Bima Sakhi, Pashu Sakhi, Jivika Sakhi, among others who, as ‘community cadres’ work towards mobilising the members of self-help groups in their respective fields.

Speaking at the event, the chief minister hoped that the ‘Sakhis’ who received scooters under ASRLM would work dedicatedly towards mobilising and motivating members of self-help groups towards achieving financial self-sufficiency and independence.

The chief minister exuded confidence the members of female-run self-help groups achieving success in their endeavour will be a huge boost towards transforming Assam into one of the top states in terms of per capita gross state domestic product.

Speaking on the importance of credit inflow in business ventures of all magnitude, CM Sarma praised the state’s self-help groups for timely repayment of their loan instalments to banks and other financial institutions. This, the chief minister stated, would ensure the bad loan component under priority-sector lending would remain within tolerable limits, thus leading to further infusion of funds for expansion of activities by the self-help groups.

Referring to the dependence of Assam on products such as milk, egg, edible oil, cereals, among others, on other states of the country, the chief minister said self-help groups operating at a very small magnitude in terms of activities should strive to transform their operations into production units of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), so that they can avail various benefits in terms of loan, tax subsidy, etc., as formulated by the government from time to time.

Referring to products and items of a number of Assam-based self-help groups getting registered with e-commerce sites for sale outside the state and abroad, the chief minister appealed to the ‘Sakhis’ to make the SHG members aware of the vast market that technological advancements offer in the twenty-first century.

The chief minister also used the platform for Sunday’s event to spread the message of importance of family planning. He also appealed to the ‘Sakhis’ to cooperate with the government in the ongoing Aadhar-seeding process for various government-granted benefits such as Orunodoi, etc.